How I lost 100 pounds in 6 months. The Mental Health and Wellness Challenge.
The 90 Day Fit Summer Body Challenge
Without any of your previous medical history or knowledge this is a simple way to start. Before you begin you need to know your specific calorie needs to lose weight. The Calorie Calculator can be used to estimate the number of calories a person needs to consume each day. This calculator can also provide some simple guidelines for gaining or losing weight. I have listed a calorie calculator to help you get started.
https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
Rucking Calorie Calculator
https://www.goruck.com/pages/rucking-calorie-calculator
Now you know how many calories you need to achieve your weight loss goals. Remember it’s a journey and not a race. Choose realistic goals and get started. Once you determine your desired weight you must choose the appropriate meal plan to help you reach your goals. Now most people hate hearing the word diet and plan and it can get complicated at times trying to keep all the things straight…calories, carbs, fats, protein and how much of this or that etc.… I know it can get tough. Remember, create a good healthy meal plan that contains foods you love to eat, that way it is sustainable. It’s difficult to stay on a meal plan when you hate the food. Also, at some stage of your journey the desire to eat unhealthy foods will decrease as you begin to reach some of your milestones. So, what’s next? Your desired weight loss exercise and training.
Our Story
Now speaking from my own experience, I chose a low impact easy way to approach my exercise. If you didn’t know I was extremely obese and diabetic weighing over 400 pounds! That’s right I weighed 435 pounds and suffered from Type 2 Diabetes and was on several medications.
Over 50 years of age. I am very thankful to have achieved this goal.
This is me at 250 pounds. I lost 185 pounds at this point in my journey!
I felt tired and unwell most days and I hated the way I looked. After many years of obesity, I began to just accept my size and I would just cover my body with extra sized clothing and didn’t even care for my facial hair and appearance. I was truly depressed. I could barely sit behind the steering wheel of my vehicle it was so uncomfortable. My joints would hurt daily as well as snoring and poor quality of life. I couldn’t even play with my two sons the way I wanted because I was so overweight and unhealthy. For me being obese really devastated my self-esteem and confidence. I really stopped worrying about me and only took care of my family. Self-neglect took its toll, and I was at a breaking point.
Then my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and our world just seemed to stop. My sons and I began caring for my beautiful wife around the clock to help her through the sickness and treatments of cancer. It was an extremely difficult time for our family because the whole family gets cancer, and it was devastating for us. My wife was very strong through her fight for life and battling through stage three grade three cancer. God blessed our family and carried us through. My wife is truly a breast cancer warrior. I love her dearly she is truly one of the strongest most loving people I know. I thank God for her because she is my Gift from God.
While our family struggled through the cancer crisis my health worsened and I was completely lost in my own problems now. I looked at my two young boys and my wife recovering from a double mastectomy and thought I would die. They would be left alone to face the coming years of adversity. I realized then that I had to make a change in my life to improve my health so that I could be here for my family. My family needed me to be here but to be here I needed to be healthy. So, one day I just went outside and started walking. Now I could not walk for the 60 or 70 miles a week I walk now but I started with about half a mile. I kept walking and joined a gym for a while then canceled my gym membership and just focused on my walking. I lost 185 pounds!
The last 100 pounds were in the last 6 months of my weight loss journey. It wasn’t easy there were many days that I wanted to quit. Some days I didn’t reach my goal. I got up and regrouped and focused on the overall goal, lose the weight, and bring down my sugar levels.
What do I eat?
Breakfast
• eggs with cheddar cheese ( Egg 0 carbs, 25 Calories,0 Fat, 5 G of Protein) Cheese (110 Calories,9 g Fat,1 G Carbs, 6 G of Protein)
• Protein drink (Premier Protein, 30 G of protein, 1 G of Sugar, 160 Calories)
• Glass of water
Lunch
• Three packs of tuna (70 to 110 Calories per pack, 1 to 2 G of Carbs, 1 to 4 G of Fat)
• 1 spoon of Mustard (0 calories, 0 Fat, 0 Carbs, 0 Protein)
• 2 spoons of Mayo (35 Calories, 3.5 G of fat, 1 G Carbs)
• Cheese (110 Calories,9 g Fat,1 G Carbs, 6 G of Protein)• Triple zero Yogurt
Dinner
• Cup of chicken breast (231 calories), lean ground beef (213 calories), steak (271 calories) or shrimp (99 calories)
• Cup of broccoli (50 calories), salad or Dark green vegetable
• Cup of walnuts
• Protein drink (Premier Protein, 30 G of protein, 1 G of Sugar, 160 Calories)
Late snack before 7pm
• Protein drink (Premier Protein, 30 G of protein, 1 G of Sugar, 160 Calories)
• Glass of water
This is what I did for food to lose a total of 185 pounds in 18 months. I lost the last 100 pounds in 6 months. My doctor took me off all the diabetes medication. All my levels returned to normal. My blood pressure, blood sugar levels, are inside normal ranges now. I feel much better now that my health has improved.
Mindset
What exactly did I do to make this lifestyle transformation? First off realize this is not about a quick diet and work out to get the weight off. This is about a complete lifestyle transformation. You will change the way you look at your life and process past trauma and or issues causing you to stay in this place now. Please address your mental and emotional issues which directly affect your decisions. People tend to work their bodies and forget to work on the mental, emotional, and spiritual issues that cause them to fail. Without processing those issues most people end up right back in this position and they tend to give up.
Coping Skills
Most people have poor and unhealthy coping skills. I would love to eat my feelings. I get depressed and then I would eat and eat to get full. I found pleasure in food and thought it was a good way to be comfortable. I’m sure people have many other unhealthy coping skills like drugs, poor behavior and other mortal problems which only contribute to the underlying problem, the unresolved trauma. So, my recommendation is to get professional help to process any trauma you may have and while you are on that journey find a healthy coping skill to replace the unhealthy one.
My coping mechanism is walking and exercise. I replaced that unhealthy eating and living with the healthy walking. When I feel depressed or anxious, I walk. When I say I walk, I mean I walk for miles at a time. This is the secret to my weight loss.
Caloric Deficit
Remember this should all be done with in a calorie deficit. Try to be in at least a 500-calorie deficit via food intake daily. This alone will enable you to lose 1 pound per week. Scientist found it takes 3500 calories to burn 1 pound of body fat. So, 500 calorie deficit per day for 7 days equals 3500 calories. Now your calorie intake is set, now the cardio begins. There are many ways to burn calories. Running, walking, HIIT training etc.… all these things work if you are consistent. Now for me I chose walking because of the many benefits of walking. There are huge mental health and wellness benefits and less wear and tear on your joints. I wanted to keep as much muscle as possible and prevent injuries. Walking is a low impact cardio that burns a higher percentage of fat per calories burned. I know you burn more calories running but a higher percentage of the calories burned are from fat when you walk. I also like to increase my intensity with added weight when walking by Rucking. It is a great way to continue the weight loss when you seem to plateau later in your journey.
Weight Resistance Training
You must use weight resistance training along your journey. It is necessary for skeletal muscle and longevity. I would recommend working out at least two to three times per week. If you want to keep your muscle or build muscle, you must use them. Be sure to take in 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. So, if your goal weight is 200 pounds you should eat 200 grams of protein per day. Be sure to use the calorie calculator to know how many calories you need to take in every day.
This is the routine I used to lose 100 pounds in 6 months!
Early morning
Wake up
Drink a glass of water no food
Walk 3 miles
Drink glass of water
Eat breakfast 30 grams of protein
Afternoon
Eat lunch 30 grams of protein
Dinner
30 grams of protein no later than 6 pm
Walk 3 miles before going to bed
Drink glass of water
Take multivitamins
Sleep
Sleep for 6 to 8 hours
Average person burns approximately 400 calories from fat while sleeping
Wake up and repeat the process
MPF Health.care, LLC.